South Carolina - The Palmetto State 2

South Carolina – The Palmetto State

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Myrtle Beach

Many large corporations have moved their locations to South Carolina.  Boeing opened an aircraft manufacturing facility in Charleston in 2011, which serves as one of two final assembly sites for the 787 DreamlinerDomtar, located in Rock Hill, is the only Fortune 500 company headquartered in South Carolina.  The Fortune 1000 list includes SCANA, Sonoco Products and ScanSource.

Transportation:

Amtrak operates four passenger routes in South Carolina: the Crescent, the Palmetto, the Silver Meteor, and the Silver Star. The Crescent route serves the Upstate cities, the Silver Star serves the Midlands cities, and the Palmetto and Silver Meteor routes serve the low country cities.

There are several significant airports in South Carolina, all of which act as regional airport hubs. The busiest by passenger volume is Charleston International Airport.

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Charleston Airport

Other significant airports include:

Columbia Metropolitan Airport, Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, Myrtle Beach International Airport , and Hilton Head Airport.

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Columbia

The Flag:

In 1775, Colonel William Moultrie was asked by the Revolutionary Council of Safety to design a flag for the South Carolina troops to use during the American Revolutionary War.  Moultrie’s design had the blue of the militia’s uniforms and the crescent, a symbol which also appeared on the militia’s uniforms. It was first flown at Fort Johnson.  This flag was flown in the defense of a new fortress on Sullivan’s Island, when Moultrie faced off against a British fleet.  Soon popularly known as either the Liberty Flag or Moultrie Flag, it became the standard of the South Carolinian militia, and was presented in Charleston, by Major General Nathanael Greene, when that city was liberated at the end of the war.

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Moultrie Flag

The palmetto was added in 1861, also a reference to Moultrie’s defense of Sullivan’s Island; the fortress he’d constructed had survived largely because the palmettos, laid over sand walls, were able to withstand British cannon.

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South Carolina Flag

While the flag invariably includes a white palmetto and crescent design on a blue background, state law does not provide “specifications for the shape, size, design or placement” of the symbols, or the exact color of the background.  As a result, flags from different manufacturers may have different appearances.

The State Nickname – The Palmetto State:

This nickname refers to South Carolina’s official State Tree, the Sabal Palmetto.

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Sabal Palmetto

The Palmetto is rooted in historical significance dating back to the Revolutionary War as discussed above.

Next Up:

Stay tuned as we turn back to New England for the next state to join the Union: New Hampshire.

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